Craven County fourth-graders take early dip in the pool

A group of Craven County fourth-graders got a cold dip in the Twin Rivers YMCA pool last week during the first of five weeks of water safety awareness classes.

Sue Book, Sun Journal Staff

A group of Craven County fourth-graders got a cold dip in the Twin Rivers YMCA pool last week during the first of five weeks of water safety awareness classes.

“There are children here today who have never been in a pool,” said Tammy Steel, a program volunteer and YMCA Board member, as was Tom Gingrich, who also brought fellow New Bern Rotary Club members to help.

Sue Smythe, 88, a twice-a-week swimmer herself and a volunteer for the last five years of the decade-long program, said that’s often true, but those reluctant to go in are won over fast.

She waved kid after kid forward for their next turn jumping or diving in the water and paddling, with life vests on, down the width of the pool and said, “even the scared ones, once they see they can do it, they come right back. It’s a good experience.”

And a valuable one, YMCA Director Todd Shuart said. “This is a great collaboration between the YMCA and Craven County Schools. We are teaching a lifelong, live saving, skill to the children.”

“This program is one of the three focus areas for YMCA,” Shuart said. “It’s how YMCA is giving back to strengthen the community’s foundation and we could not do it without the volunteers” which included Rotary members on that day, but assorted civic groups and individuals also help.

“They come in to help the kids learn and grow to become more safety conscious around the water,” he said. “Since we do it for fourth-graders in the spring and third-graders in the fall, they get a double dose.”

Listening to volunteers outline safe water practices to kids excited about just playing in the water on school time, one had to wonder if it was sinking in.

Asked what they were taking away with them, Brinson Memorial student Lee Ann Gilbert, already a swimmer when she came, said, “I learned water safety rules like you shouldn’t swim alone and if you see somebody drowning, call for help; don’t jump in.”

Imonea Smith, who swims in a backyard pool, learned that too.

Rice Wilkerson and Justin Brothers, who called themselves good swimmers but “not on a swim team yet,” were more interested in how fast they could go and how many times they could swim the length of the pool.

Jo-nay Davis, not yet a swimmer, said “I like the water. I learned the life vest rules and I had a whole bunch of fun doing it.”

Aquatics director and assistant director Skip Nitardy and Susan Decker coordinate the program with nearly 900 fourth-graders that Decker said this year, with spring break dividing it, will last five weeks from March 13 to April 16.

“I like to hear they are moving forward,” she said. “It’s a good opportunity to see their skills and what they need to work on. And the volunteers look forward to it. They catch a staff member in the hall and ask for the schedule.”

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